Universal Weekly (1923-1926)

October 2, 1926 Universal Weekly 39 A PAQE OF SYNOPSES “THE PHANTOM BULLET” Universal Jewel Starring HOOT GIBSON Directed by CLIFFORD SMITH From story, “Click of the Triangle T.,” by Oscar Friend CAST Tom Farlane Hoot Gibson Jane Terrill Eileen Percy Don Barton Allan Forrest Bill Haynes Pat Harmon Zack Peters Nelson McDowell Judge Terrill William H. Turner Tom Farlane, Sr John T. Prince Tall Texan Robert Milash Dolores Rosemary Cooper Short Texan . .Gilbert “Peewee” Holmes (Footage: 6,148.) TOM Farlane is a cowpuncher on the Bar X Ranch in Wyoming. He is an ardent amateur photographer and endures with a grin the goodnature jibes of his companions who tease him incessantly on account of his fondness for the camera. His father, owner of the Triangle T Ranch in Texas, believes his son will be better off if trained away from home. Don Barton, foreman of the Triangle T, at the head of a ring of sheep thieves who are systematically stealing the stock, finding himself in danger of discovery, shoots and kills Farlane from ambush. With no clue except a bullet from an automatic, which has been extracted from the body of the murdered man, one of old Farlane’s faithful cronies journeys to the Bar X and tells young Farlane of the death of his father. Tom, determined to find the murderer, packs away his cowboy outfit and impersonates a city weakling. He is greeted by the men of his own ranch with contempt and sour amusement, for they had expected the son of old Farlane to tote something more dangerous than a kodak. Tom keeps up the sissy pose in spite of their disgust and in spite of the fact that Jane Terrill, the girl he loves, begins to believe that he is a soft-head, although she has been in on the secret from the first. His acting is too convincing for her, but he succeeds in his purpose of disarming the guilty man (as yet unsuspected by Tom) of any fear that this “ninny” will have brains enough to get him. Tom poses himself and Jane in the seat of a buckboard and fastens his camera to the corral fence in front of them. As he snaps the shutter by pulling a string, a harmless shot is fired behind him but the man who fired it disappears without being seen by any of the men. On the day following, Barton persuades Jane to ride with him to a tough saloon known as “The Crack of Dawn,” where he promises to give her proof that Tom is making love to a dance hall girl on the side. When the film of the day previous is developed, Tom is amazed to see in the background the figure of Barton, pointing at him with a smoking automatic, conclusive proof that this man killed his father. Hearing from one of the men that Barton had gone with Jane to the Crack of Dawn, he rides like fury toward the saloon, astonishing the men with his sudden display of expert horsemanship. Barton, seeing him coming, throws Jane into his car and drives madly along the mountain road, Tom following close. Tom jumps into the car and takes the girl in his arms just as the machine swerves and goes over a cliff into the river below. Barton never comes up, but Tom and Jane swim safely to the shore where they are the principals in a tender love scene. “THE RADIO DETECTIVE” Ten-Episode Adventure Picture Featuring JACK DAUGHERTY No. 5 — “The Radio Secret” RAE disguises as an old hag to fool Ruth, now held captive at Stony Point. A fake radio message purporting to come from Ruth brings Easton to the shack where Vario’s henchmen tie him and threaten harm to Ruth unless he gives up the Evansite at once. Warned by Ken, Craig Kennedy disguised as Vario’s chauffeur, gains access to the shack and induces Vario to give him the piece of Evansite which he has forced from Easton, for “safe keeping.” Easton has slyly freed himself from his bonds and strikes at his captors just as Ruth attacks Rae, throwing her to the floor. Evans, mistaking the disguised Kennedy for the chauffeur, stuns him with a blow causing him to drop the Evansite which is snatched up by the old hag who flees from the shack, running to Ken, who is guarding Craig Kennedy’s car. She tears off the disguise and reveals, instead of Rae, Ken’s sister Ruth. They speed away in the car. “PLAYING THE SWELL” Two-Reel Stern Brothers Comedy Featuring WANDA WILEY FORLORN and broke, Wanda figures out a way to get some money. She puts black glasses on a sleeping bum in the park, punches a hole in the bottom of the derby he holds in his hand and then hides under the bench and catches the coins dropped by passers-by who pity the “blind man.” “OUTLAW LOVE” Two-Reel Mustang Picture Starring JOSIE SEDGWICK SYLVIA DUNBAR, whose aged father has been accused by Jack Borden of the murder of Sheriff Castle, rescues a stranger who has been shot by the Borden gang and is now being pursued by them. She hides the wounded stranger and returns to her father’s cabin for food and bandages, Borden meets her and demands to know where she has hidden the stranger, but she knocks him down and reaches her father, followed by Borden who tells the old man that if he does not arrange at once for his marriage to the girl he will make him face new murder evidence that will surely condemn him. Dunbar is knocked out in the scuffle that follows, but Sylvia gains a long lead on Borden, who pursues her. Catching the limb of a tree and concealing herself in the foliage, she jumps on Borden as he passes under the limb and gets the drop on him. The stranger, in the meantime, has lighted a smoky fire that draws the balance of the Borden gang out against him. The ruse is well timed and the Borden gang fall for it, dropping cleanly into the hands of a posse from the neighboring county that is working under the stranger’s direction. When Sylvia turns Borden over to the posse, it turns out that the stranger is the son of the murdered man, who has absolute evidence against Borden but has permitted Sylvia’s father to remain under suspicion to keep the Borden gang from fleeing the country. He looks at the girl and tells her that from now on he wants to be a little more than a friend, and she consents. She is accosted by a handsome youth upon whom she tries to make an impression. She fills him with oil about her wealth and importance and then says good-by when they come to a car on the curb which she tells him is her roadster. He insists upon letting her drive him home and then gives her his card which is the same name as the owner’s license — Mortimer. He forgives her for stealing his car and invites her to a party. She goes home and rigs up a weird evening gown by putting together all the lace curtains in the rooming house. At the party she is the laughing stock. She loses piece after piece of the makeshift costume and finally runs out in despair, covering herself with a tapestry pulled from the door in flight. Mortimer follows. They both get wrapped in the tapestry and in each others arms.